I have been praying and praying for an even closer relationship with God, for Him to speak to me and open all of my senses up to Him and His Spirit, and of course, for healing of my body. I also have prayed that God would prepare the hearts of those I invite to church, that they would accept the invitation. Well, today I received some answers to my prayers.
As I was getting ready for church, I received a text from a friend who I invited a few weeks ago saying that she was definitely coming to service today! I was so excited! Finally an acceptance from someone! It felt so great. When we arrived at church, she was already inside conversing with some family friends of ours who had no idea she was coming. I thought that was neat. We then entered the sanctuary and found our seats just in time for worship.
The music was great, as always. That is one thing I LOVE about this church (the Covenant Church) - the music! It is life-breathing! You can literally feel the Holy Spirit filling the sanctuary - every row, every seat - as our voices lift, united in praising our God! Oh, how awesome it feels... How awesome it sounds! I closed my eyes during one song, absolutely captivated in how lovely all of our voices sounded together and imagined Heaven. It sounded like Heaven.
As I was getting into one of the songs, an older man came behind me, put his hand on my right shoulder, and began praying aloud in tongues. As he prayed, he moved his hand to my right arm, my right hand, and my right leg and then to my left arm, my left hand, and my left leg. (He was praying for healing in my body.) When he finished he told me that God wants me to know how much He loves me and also wants me to write a petition for seven days as well as a letter to Jesus and at the end of the seven days, God would heal me. Before the man left to find his seat, he told me that God instructed him to come to this church and pray over a person in a wheelchair.
We continued singing but shortly later, our pastor began his message. He preached about Mary and Martha and their personalities/lifestyles (Luke 10:38-41; John 11:1-43). He said that we should not just be like Mary, always sitting at the feet of Jesus, but also be like Martha who was always busy serving, working, and preparing. He instructed that by being too much of either "Mary" or "Martha," we will miss out on what God has in store for us. Of course, my two cents on it does not give it justice but, it was a great message. As he closed, he said, "If there is anything you need prayer for, come to the front. Ask and you shall receive." It made me think of my blog yesterday and I immediately felt conviction for something I needed to confess.
I wheeled up to the front and asked one of the elders to pray over me for healing, my confession, and for my boyfriend's life struggles. One of the first things she said was, "Ask the Lord and you will receive." I thought again of my recent blog "Keep Asking and You Shall Receive; Keep Seeking and You Shall Find." She prayed and we talked for about 15 minutes. Then, as I was leaving the sanctuary, a young man (in his twenties) approached me saying that God told him to talk with and pray over me. I was thinking, "Wow! Two people in one day have not only been instructed by God to pray over me but they have also faithfully stepped out in obedience to God's instruction!" I felt very encouraged and so special in God's eyes.
The young man began trembling as tears filled his eyes. He grabbed my hand as began to pray that I would know how much God loves me and that God would grant me the desires of my heart. Throughout the prayer, he was crying and very emotional. He had been sitting in the row behind me the entire time the elder was praying over me so I was not sure if he was so emotional because he heard me tell her my story and saw me crying or if God had revealed something to him about me or if God displayed the desires of my heart to him. I later felt and came to the conclusion that it was all three.
I am writing all of this to be obedient in God's commandment "Write these things down for the future so that people who are not yet born will praise the Lord" (Psalm 102:18, NCV). God is good and I know He will heal me. I realized that it is a matter of me letting go of all fear, worry, and doubt and faithfully believing with ALL I have that God will take care of me. Today marks this complete transition.
I also wanted to share a passage with you that explains me asking the elder (has the gift of prayer) for prayer:
Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise. Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective (James 5:13-16, NIV 1984).
God's love is real. God's love is near.May you be blessed. Much love.
